Crashing Into You
by lostinadaydream73
Summary: Drew and Rick go away for a weekend and on their way home they get in a car crash. Drew is in critical condition and Rick is struggling to not freak out and stay healthy. The staff members all come together and get closer to Rick along they road to recovery for Drew and Rick
1. Chapter 1

I try to move my arm. I can't. At least not as much as I should be able to. Not without searing pain ripping through my body. I move my legs and to my surprise my prosthetic leg is still on nice and strong. I move my other arm and sigh when I discover that it too is working properly. My vision is swimming which is extremely inconvenient and the pounding rain is only making my migraine worse. I'm laying on my side and I can tell there is glass all around me. Drew. I stop trying to move my limbs.

"Drew? Drew?" I ask frantically, I wasn't sure I could move my head but I tried. My head moved to the side more and I could see Drew. His face was covered in blood, his arm bent oddly, his chest heaving, his eyes screwed shut, his breathing labored, his hip smashed.

"Oh God, Drew! Talk to me! Are you ok?" I asked as I try to scoot closer to him. I can hear sirens but they're not nearly close enough. I feel like I'm back oversees and we've just been bombed. Only this is so much worse because instead of my brothers bleeding besides me it's the love of my life. My mind flashes with memories and I clamp my eyes shut for a moment to rid my mind of the assault.

"I- I don't kn,know. My, my ribs aren't good. Drew, g,get my b,b,belt off, I can,can't breath." Drew speaks sporadically with short breaths. I don't move for a second. Then my training kicks in and reach shakily into the glove box where I know there is a pocket knife. There is blood on my hand that I didn't notice before. I saw the belt as quickly as I can. When it comes off though Drew gasps suddenly and his light blue shirt suddenly gets even more blood on it.

"Shit, shit, you have a laceration I think it's deep. I, I gotta put pressure on it." I tell him before going against the pain in my arm and applying pressure. Drew gasps again and tries to squirm away but I only follow his body with my arms. The sirens are here I can tell and I try to not let the tears roll down my face.

"Drew, Drew, Oh God!" I hear a voice. Gwen. I know that voice. Her head appears down in the broken window of the truck, she's on her stomach, we must have rolled.

"Help, help Gwen. He's got a serious laceration, his hip has b,been crushed, he had a hard t,time breathin." I explain as I pant to catch my breath.

"Rick? Oh God, ok we're gonna get you both out ok? Stay where you are the firefighters are here to get you and we'll get ya fixed up." Gwen speaks frantically but then her voice of reason, her professional voice takes over and it's comforting as I sit in the sideways car with the rain pounding down and my hands getting soaked with Drew's blood. I hear Gwen talking to someone outside the car and after a few minutes she lays back down outside the broken window of the car and makes eye contact with me. Drew moves his head slightly and Gwen reaches in to halt his movements.

"No Drew keep yourself still. We're gonna get you out first bc that cut looks pretty deep, we don't need ya losing any more blood. Rick, you keep that pressure, I'll be right back with the firemen. They're gonna take over ok? They'll get Drew out and we'll get ya both to the hospital." Gwen explains.

"I'm fine. I'm o,ok." I try to tell her as I keep my hands on Drew's stomach. He gasps as I apply more pressure. I hear a lot of movement outside the car and the sirens are reflecting off the puddles and making my vision swim.

"I, l,love you, R,Rick." Drew speaks suddenly.

"I love y,you too Drew." I say and realize I'm shivering. I hadn't noticed that before. I realize that there is water on the floor of the car from the rain and that my clothes are soaked through. Drew is shivering too and I lean down slightly to see through the windshield. Just as I'm about to call out for help a man's face appears in the hole where the window used to be before it shattered mercilessly.

"I'm Lieutenant Tener. My men and myself are gonna get you both out real soon, give us two more minutes." He says before reaching and placing his hand on Drew's chest.

"You're gonna be fine Captain. You both are." He promises before hopping back up and ordering his men to grab tools. I think to myself how he knew that we were Captains, or members of the military at all and conclude that Drew must have worked with him before.

"Drew do you know him?" I ask wondering whether or not keeping him talking is good.

"Yeah, he's p,pulled vic,victims that we, we've t,treated before. He's, r,real good." Drew explains before gasping again. I nod.

"Good, that's good." I say before getting lost in my head again. We had been driving home from a nice dinner after our weekend get away. We'd been flirting, we'd been happy. The road turned too sharp, the person in the lane next to us swerved and before we knew it the car was on it's side rolling and the chaos began. Lieutenant Tener appears in the window again and he tells me that they're gonna pull the door off and get Drew on a backboard and in a collar and pull him out. I can only nod before he signals to pull the door with the jaws. He says where he is, right on the ground, despite the fact that he's getting covered in shards of metal and rain water. He keeps his eyes locked on mine. At first the noise of the machine doesn't bother me but those damn flashbacks keep popping in my head.

"Stop." I mutter softly, "Stop! STOP! We can't make that much noise!" I scream. My mind is else where. The noise cuts off.

"The damn insurgents will hear us, they'll come back for another a,attack. They'll, they'll come." I try to explain.

"R,rick." I hear Drew sputter out my name and for a second I'm back in the present and realize that I'm putting too much pressure on his stomach but I hear a siren and I'm right back across the sea. Lieutenant Tener reaches in the car and lifts my hands off Drew's chest. In fact he crawls inside slightly in what looks to be an incredibly uncomfortable position and applies pressure.

"Captain Allister look at me, this is lieutenant Tener, you were in a car crash. Do you understand. You're home. You're safe we're gonna get you out." Something in my head connects and I nodded furiously.

"Y,yeah, I'm, I'm here." I tell him. He nods but doesn't move his hands off Drew.

"I gotta go back out, I'm in the way of the jaws right now, you gotta keep this pressure, you can't push too hard though." His voice is calm as I put my hands back on Drew's stomach. Drew has closed his eyes now and I keep an eye on his face as the door comes off. Gwen takes over and puts the backboard on him and the collar with the help of the fire fighters. They pull Drew out and Gwen begins to give orders to her partner. LIeutenant Tener comes and gives me his hand as I stumble out of the car. My prosthetic leg is digging into my skin and incredibly uncomfortable as I try to walk normally. Lieutenant puts and arm around me and helps lead me to the ambulance. Gwen pulls me inside and I nod to Tener as he walks away. The sirens blare and Gwen orders me to sit down and stop touching Drew. He still is unconscious which worries the crap out of me. Gwen is working on him every second of the ride and I keep muttering for him to open his eyes. His breathing is shallow and the blood on his face only looks worse under the lights. The extremely painful light I may add. TC and Kenny are waiting at the hospital and when they see Drew they both take deep breaths before grabbing the gurney and getting to work.

"I'm, f,f,fine." Drew mutters to TC.

"Alright man we got ya." TC tell him. Drew grabs his hand though and pulls him close with the little strength he has.

"L,l,look at Rick's leg, it, it swells. He c,could ha-have a c,c,concu-sion." Drew's voice was cracking and strained.

"Alright man, I'll take good care of him. Ok? You gotta worry about yourself now. We got Rick and we got you." Kenny spoke up.

"Alright let's get them inside, call Scott, we'll probably need to operate." TC says as he takes charge of the situation and begins pushing the gurney inside again.


	2. Chapter 2

I stand for a second in shock and also in hopes that my vision will stop swirling about, before walking quickly inside following the flood of doctors and Drew's gurney. The doors to the exam room open and I turn my head to see TC standing there with a mask over his mouth. I've seen him like this from the many times that I've been in the hospital but to see him like this while standing over the man I loved had me breathing heavily in fear. He looked a little concerned, I try to step into the room where they're working on Drew but my leg catches on the small frame and a sharp pain goes up my leg. If it wasn't for Topher walking in behind me and grabbing my elbows to steady me, I probably would've fallen flat on my ass. I take a sharp inhale but a pain in my ribs stops me short and my damn vision starts swirling again. I think I made a grunting noise but they may have come from Drew. Drew's eyes are screwed shut and he's taking short shallow breaths.

"Drew? Baby? Drew! Is he ok? Why isn't he answering?" I yell over all the doctors.

"Someone get him out of here." T.C. says quickly as he hovers over Drew. "We got you Drew, we're gonna take you to surgery to repair some things but we got you Drew, hang tough." T.C. speaks to Drew in a calm voice and I watch as Drew shivers slightly and nods quickly before moaning. He wasn't in this much pain when they were trapped, maybe he was more away now. My leg stumbles again and Topher grabs my arms again.

"Woo, easy, Kenny, come get him checked out. That leg has got to be looking a bit rough. Full work up. Call me once you get the preliminary work done." Topher says and Kenny puts his arm around me and tries to steer me away. I turn to the room again and watch as Topher darts inside the exam room and begins to give orders to hang more blood, IV's, and to call up to the OR. I watch as they begin to prepare Drew to be moved and struggle against Kenny's arms.

"No, no I gotta stay with Drew. I gotta help." I say as I struggle slightly against his arms. "I, I got to stay."

"No man, ya don't. TC and Toph have him in good hands. He's my best friend and I can tell you he'll be just fine with them. You can see him once we get you cleared. Ok? You can help him by getting help yourself." Kenny says as he tightens his hold on me as my legs get weaker and my head swims even more than before. I nod slightly before allowing him to lead me into a room with another one of those damn annoying lights. As I clutch his arm to stay standing I can feel the tremors running through my body and feel the overload of adrenaline coursing through my veins but slowly leaving my system in turmoil and in pathetic, rattled pieces. Kenny assists me getting onto the exam table and turns to type some things into the computer in the room. I try to take deep breaths and steady by hands like I used to do before storming into a building late at night when I was deployed. For some reason though I couldn't get them to stop shaking and I stared oddly at a gushing gash on my arm. I had noticed it in the car but it hadn't looked as bad. Now, in the light it looked angry and red.

"I,I'm fine." I try to tell him again. He stops typing for a minute but continues eventually. He grabs a few things off a tray before coming over to me. He beginnings to cut my shirt off as he pushs me back to a half laying position on the exam table. I try to stop him when he gets to my pants.

"I don't need a gown, I'm alright. Just stitch me up." I stutter over my words though and my voice cracks. I squeeze my damn shaking hands again. I'm covered in sweat I realize and I'm freezing, the thought of being exposed is killing me.

"I'm sorry man, I gotta get a gown on you, it'll be a hell of a lot more comfortable and as soon as you're cleared I can run down to Drew's locker and get you some spare clothes. I can do the exam a lot faster if you're in a gown." Kenny never stopped cutting as he explained it to me sensing my uncomfortableness with being put in a gown but ignoring it anyway. I nod slightly. My head is still swimming and pounding. I shake my hands out.

"Is, is, Drew gonna be ok? What's, what's wrong with him?" I ask as Kenny grabs some supplies from a cupboard. "I'm not entirely sure what the extent of his injuries was. He probably had some internal bleeding and was going to get a head CT. They were taking him to surgery when we came in here. I promise he's in the best hands possible and when there is an update someone will come tell you." He tries to reason with my but I only clench my hands tighter in hopes of getting my whole arms to stop shaking.

"The shaking will stop soon, it's the overload of adrenaline and shock." He tells me before slightly pushing on my shoulder. "I know that. I'm not an idiot. I have served overseas, I know about adrenaline." I snap quickly. Kenny stops and nods.

"I know. I'm sorry, I'm only trying to help you calm down. Keep you in the present. I'm concerned too." Kenny admits and I only nod as a wave of pain flows through my leg. I clutch at it slightly as I gasp and this doesn't go unnoticed by Kenny.

"Well, although you won't be needing anything crazy like surgery or nothin', you're not 'OK'" Kenny says with air quotes around OK. "I'm going to get you in line for x-ray for your shoulder and your ribs, your shoulder could have a fracture and your ribs too. I'll also will be ordering a head CT bc you definitely have a bangin concussion so I wanna check for a brain bleed too. Just to be safe. You'll need some stitches, especially on your stomach so we'll go ahead and get that done now while we wait for CT and x-ray. I'll try to get an update on Drew while I get supplies. I make no promises though." Kenny speaks quickly and never seems to stop moving. I can sense the worry in his tone and his jittery movements. "We'll also get Topher to look at your leg and possibly adjust your prosthetic, just to make sure everything is ok." He adds quickly before walking out of the room and leaving me to my own devices. I try to sit still on not think about Drew.

My mind keeps wandering to him though. My mind is shifting I can tell, like it was in the car. I can't tell what is me sitting in the hospital and what is gunshots in Iraq and what is Topher and TC yelling. What's real? I can hear TC yelling and Topher too. It can't be him. It's not him. But it has to be. What if it is? No, Kenny said he was already in surgery, he's in the OR, not in the hall... I try to convince myself but as I glance out the window it looks so much like Drew, it has to be him laying on the gurney bleeding out. It's him, it's him.

"Hold on Drew! We got you man, we got you!" Topher is yelling as they run down the hall pushing a gurney.

"We're losing him! He's crashing!" Another person yells. I can see just the top of his face throught the window as he gets shoved down the hall. A monitor is beeping wildly, I can hear it through the door and as I stare through the window in the door I don't even realize what I'm doing. It's has to be real. It has to be. My head swims as I try to pull open the door. It pounds as I take a few shaky steps down the hall. My leg feels like it's burning and my whole body is shaking. I lean against the wall heavily, where did he go? I wonder as I try to catch my breath. I try to hold myself up but I fall in a heap on the ground. A pathetic heap.

"Drew!" I try to scream but my voice is hoarse and the blood that was coating my face gets in my mouth as I lick my lips.

"Shit! Get Topher!" I can't place the voice at first. "Get Kenny too!" The voice yells. Krista. Drew's friend. "Rick? Rick? Stay still alright?" She runs a comforting hand through my hair. I relax into the touch.

"I th,thought Drew was dy,dying. Taking to, to surgery." I explain as I clench my eyes shut and grab at my aching stump. "I, I saw him being pushed d,down the, the hall." I try to explain to her.

"Rick, Drew has been in surgery for more than 30 minutes, he was rushed up. He didn't come down this hallway either. Your mind is playing tricks on you." She explains as Topher jogs up to the scene with Kenny following closely behind. I try to relax as Krista explains the situation to Topher.

"I think he was hallucinating or flashing back or something. He was yelling for Drew. He said he saw him come down this hallway. He's gotta be seeing things." I hear Krista say as she continues to rub a hand comfortingly through my matted hair.

"Rick, stay still, we're gonna get you on the gurney and get ya fixed up. I'm gonna give you something to relax a bit." He says. My mind is tumbling but I can still understand that.

"No, I got, to,to be a,awake for D,drew." I mumble.

"You will be, it's just going to put you to sleep for a little bit. I promise. Trust me, you'll feel better when you wake up." Topher says and I nod before exhaling slowly. I feel a small pinch in my arm and Topher grabs my hand.

"We'll take good care of both of you." He promises and that's the last thing I hear before I drift off into some sort of sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

**Authors note: so I really like this chapter and it's a little longer than the others. I'm going to try to update this more quickly and write another longer story. I'm not sure how many more chapters I'm going to do. Hopefully 3 more and then a quick wrap up. I hope you enjoy! Also I apologize if the medical information is a bit inaccurate!**

 **Enjoy;)**

TC POV

"Let's get Topher up here and get his opinion." I tell Scott as he runs a stitch quickly and efficiently. One of the nurses in the OR gets on the OR phone and pages Topher as Scott and I continued to work. Drew had been stable since we got the internal bleeding under control which was minimal to begin with. I hear the OR door swoosh open

"What's up T?" He asked as he stepped closer and observed Drew's stats on the monitor.

"We just wanted to let you know that Drew is almost done here and will be down in recovery soon. He had a small bleed in his brain and some internal bleeding. Both have been resolved, now we're making sure his ribs are set and his lungs look good and then we can close up. How's Rick? I'm sure he's worried." I ask Topher as I check the field for blood.

"He's asleep, we knocked him out for a few minutes. Just a few grams of a light sedative. He was coming off a bunch of adrenaline, he thought he saw Drew outside his room, practically passed out in the hall. He has a bad concussion, his amputated leg is a bit swollen, and he has 2 cracked ribs and lacerations but he'll be alright. Especially when he knows Drew is ok." Topher says and I sigh. Rick and Drew are so in love, it's obvious to anyone and it's sad that the couple has to go through this.

"Damn. That really sucks. Drew will be out in about 30 minutes. We'll have to keep him off any pain meds until we can do a neuro exam. You should prepare Rick, it's not gonna be fun." I tell Topher as Scott nods along with what I'm saying. I begin to prepare to close up as Topher walks back out of the OR.

"Drew is a good guy, I'd hate to see something so stupid like a car crash do serious damage when he hasn't even been deployed for active duty yet. I mean it'll be interesting to see how their relationship is after Drew is deployed and comes back. I mean Rick just hallucinated that he was being pushed down a hallway. It's gotta mess up their relationship a bit ya know? All the stress and PTSD or whatever." Scott mutters. I glare across the table at him.

"This isn't stupid. And he's a great man, until you serve overseas I don't think you should act as though you understand what it's like. Drew will be fine, as will Rick. They both are handling it just fine. Now close up his damn head while I got talk to Rick." I step away from the table and begin to walk out but suddenly turn back.

"Oh, Scott?"

"Yeah?"

"Stop being a jackass." I say before finally stepping out of the OR and ripping off my gown that is soaked in Drew's blood.

TOPHER POV

I walk down into Rick's room to see if he's coming around yet and I'm pleased when I see that Kenny is sitting by his bedside, he adjusted the ice sleeve on his amputated leg before looking up to me.

"Drew will be out of surgery in about 30 minutes, let's start waking him up. Drew did great, he should be just fine. Try not to worry, Rick will take care of that for the both of you I'm sure. Unfortunately, Scott is concerned enough with the neuro exam that he has to stay off any pain meds until we can get him a neuro consult and exam. We need to prepare Rick for how much pain he'll be in for those few minutes." I tell Kenny as I adjust a few things on the monitor, weaning Rick off the light sedative and watching as he moved his finger slightly. Kenny nodded at my words and took Rick's hand.

"Is he going to have to wake him up all the way? Complete consciousness? We don't do that often." Kenny says as he looks down at the ground.

"Yeah, we just want to cover all the bases."

"I'm a doctor too Topher. If we're having to do that thorough of a neuro exam, obviously they think there's permanent damage." Kenny says tensly before grabbing Rick's hand and giving it a light squeeze.

"Rick, hey man wake up. You gotta wake up for Drew." Kenny said in a soft voice. I watched as Kenny took a deep breath. He must be relieved that his best friend was ok but anxious that there may not be much of his best friend back mentally. Rick slid his eyes open.

"Where's Drew?" He asked immediately.

"He's almost out of surgery, probably about 30 minutes until he's settled into a room and you can see him alright? Listen though, we gotta make sure that brain of his is still working alright. We gotta keep him off pain meds until he wakes up to do a neuro exam, he's gonna be in a lot of pain and we need you to help keep him grounded ok? You can do this right?" Kenny answers and adjusts the monitor so it stops beeping.

"Yeah, I, I can do that." Rick answers and I nod.

"Good. He should be just fine Rick. You keep resting for a minute, there are clothes right here, someone can help you get changed in a few minutes. You're exam cleared you, I want you to take it easy on your leg for the next few days. It needs some rest, you know the concussion instructions, and just take it easy on your ribs, nothing that hurts." I tell him before leaving the room to go find out what room Drew is going to be in.

RICK POV

I adjust to my surrounding slowly. I take a few deep breaths before pushing myself up into a sitting position. My ribs flare up in pain and I grab at them weakly. My head is still pounding although considerably less. Krista walks in and sees me sitting on the edge of the bed eyeing the clothes. She hands the shirt to me.

"Let's start here and see what we get ok? We can take it slow." She tells me as she unties the gown in the back quickly. It lands on lap and I slide the sleeves down. I get one arm into the Army t-shirt easily and slide the other arm in.

"Try to go slowly and if it hurts your ribs too much just try to take a few breaths." She tells me as I ease it over my head. Raising my arms does hurt a lot but I try to push through. I lower my arms and Krista pulls the shirt down my torso, sensing the hurt I was in.

"Let's take a quick break." She tells me and turns to record something in the computer.

"I'm ok." I explain and reach for the jeans that are laying on the bed. She stops my hand. "Rick, we can go slowly. Drew is getting settled. You can't even see him yet so you can take your time. Just take a sec to breath." She tells me and so I do the only thing that she seems to want to allow me to do. Breath. My mind is racing. I just want to make sure my fiancee is alright. My deep sigh comes out as a sob as I duck my head out of Krista's sight. I hadn't cried yet but it was all hitting me suddenly. The adrenaline was leaving my body and now all that was left was exhaustion, worry, and pain. I just want to see him alive. I feel a hand on my back rubbing small circles.

"Shhh, he's gonna be just fine, you can see him in a few minutes. You both are going to be just fine. I can feel it. Drew is so strong and he's a fighter, especially when it comes to fighting for those he loves and damn he really loves you Rick, he loves you so much." Krista assures me as I choke back a few sobs and pull myself together. I nod at her words.

"I need to see him." I say quickly and Krista nods. After a few minutes she grabs the jeans and pulls the gown off my lap. I blush slightly sitting on a bed in just my boxers with Drew's friend helping me get dressed while he's laying a hospital bed somewhere. Krista puts my legs through the holes.

"Go ahead and stand, I can hold you steady, you can do the rest." She tells me and I'm glad that she's letting me keep my dignity here. I grab her hands tightly and stand on my good leg. I lean on her heavily as I pull the jeans the rest of the way up and struggle to buckle them. Krista's pager goes off and she glances down as I lean back against the bed.

"Drew is ready, you can go sit with him now. I can take you to him." She tells me. Finally, I can go see him, I can help him, I can go do something about all this bullshit. Krista grabs my prosthetic and it does hurt a bit to have it back on with the swelling, I will definitely have to follow orders and take it easy.

Krista walks slowly, allowing me to take my time. She doesn't fail to mention that the hospital has hundreds of wheelchairs and that she can get one in just a few seconds if I want one but I only continue to decline. TC is standing outside of Rick's door. He shakes my hand as I lean against the wall trying to act casual but am actually exhausted.

"He's doing great." TC starts before diving into the medical talk that I try to drown out. "You can sit with him now. He is being weaned off the sedatives so he will probably wake up within the next hour. If he seems uncomfortable page us alright? That means he's starting to wake up and we want to be there when he does. When he wakes up we'll do the neuro exam and get him right on pain meds, we'll be asking him a few questions. Don't give him any hints or help. It's to make sure there is no permanent damage to the brain. Till then, do your best to comfort him. He's going to be ok Rick. Now we're just checking for any brain damage and defecits." TC tells me as he puts a hand on shoulder.

"So there could be damage?" I ask hesitantly and look sadly in TC's eyes as he nods slowly. He opens the door for me and lets me pass by him and go inside. My legs shake even more as I look at Drew. It must have been horrible having me in this room when I was in the accident. I notice that TC has grabbed my arm to steady me and is leading me to an uncomfortable looking chair. I sink down in it and grab Drew's hand.

"It's gonna be ok babe." I tell him as I pray for the hundredth time for him to open his damn eyes. "What do all these damn wires even do?" I ask as I turn to TC, my ribs ache at the movement.

"Well, the IV is giving him fluids and antibiotics to fight infection, keep him hydrated ya know. The oxygen mask is just helping him breathe easier, the things attached to his chest help monitor his pulse, and his other vitals. It's all to help him." He told me and gave my shoulder a squeeze. Krista came into the room, a cup of coffee in her hand. I had asked her to get me one earlier and felt bad about lying and telling her it was only my second cup when in reality it had to have been my 5th or 6th. I took it gratefully and began to chug it, I already felt jittery, but not at all energized and overall I felt the exhaustion seeping into my veins but there was no way in hell I could miss him waking up. I needed to be there for him. My hands shook but I hid it but squeezing them into fists. Krista kissed him on the forehead before coming over next to me.

"He should be waking up in the next 45 minutes. If he seems uncomfortable just page one of us. We'll all stay close, Rick." Her voice was sincere and her eyes watery. I leaned back in the chair and tried to position myself in a way that wasn't causing me pain. I stared into the empty styrofoam coffee cup and sighed. I needed another, my eyes were slipping shut. I took a look at Drew and pushed myself up from the chair. There was a coffee machine right outside his room, I saw it on the way in and when I had prepared another cup of coffee for myself I sighed in relief as it slid down my throat and forced my eyes open for a few more minutes. I did a few things like call the insurance company, called my officer, and took care of a few other stressful things. It was 4 am when Drew groaned. I instantly hit the pager I had been given and grabbed his hand gently. I suddenly was scared of him waking up while I was the only one in here. I would have no idea what to do with him in all this pain. He squeezed my hand tightly but his eyes were still closed. I could tell he was coming too. I hit the pager again. Shit, shit. I thought to myself as he groaned again. I heard running footsteps though and felt a weight lifted off my shoulders as TC jogged inside.

"He, he groaned, and squeezed my hand really tightly, and groaned again." I told him. TC nodded and looked at the monitors, adjusting a few things. "Is he alright? Why aren't you doing anything?" I demanded as TC looked at his monitor.

"We just have to wait for a little bit alright? Stay calm Rick, that's the best thing you can do."

"Good, that's good. Listen, he's probably gonna be confused, he may not exactly act like himself and he'll be in a lot of pain. You don't have to stay if you don't want to. I can have Krista do it. We just need someone to help keep him grounded while we ask him the questions and check his neuro functions. You need to keep in mind that everything may not be fine. We usually don't let family member do this." TC explained quickly as he grabbed Drew's chart and recorded a few things.

"No, I can do this. It should be me." I tell him as Drew groans again and moves slightly in the bed. He barely stills before squeezing his eyes shut and yelling out. He squeezed my hand.

"Alright, let's keep waking him up." TC says as Topher walks in as well with Scott trailing behind. I take a deep breath as Drew continues to groan.

"Drew, sweetie can you open your eyes. I know It hurts but can you open your eyes?" I ask as I squeeze his hand back gently. He clenches his eyes shut before slowly opening them.

"Son of bitch. IT HURTS" Drew yells as he grabs my hand.

"I know, I know." I say as tears threaten to spill down my face. "Drew, it's Scott, you need to pass this neuro exam, listen to me. Answer these questions." Scott instructs as he shines a light in Drew's eyes. Drew squirms and pants and groans again.

"What year is it?" Scott asks quickly as writes something down on Drew's chart.

"2016, GOD DAMN IT." Drew chokes out a cry. "Good, good, who is that?" Scott asks and points to me. "My, my boyfriend, Rick." Drew said. Oh my God. He doesn't remember we're engaged.

"Drew, sweetie, we're engaged. Remember? We're engaged." I tell him. He only squeezes his eyes shut and cries out again. TC grabs my shoulder.

"It's ok." He tells me and nods to me. Scott tells Drew to remember three words, Cat, spoon, truck and then asks him when his birthday is. Drew answers correctly but tears are now falling down his face and he's stuttering. There's sweat on his face as he grabs onto my shirt tightly.

"Follow my light." Topher instructs and he does as he's told.

"Ok, can you tell me those three words now?" Scott asks. Drew stops, his eyes screwed shut, his breathing labored, he shakes his head. "Come on Drew, you can do this, you're almost done. What are the words.?" Topher encourages. I take a breath and squeezed his hand, "Come on babe, what are the words?" I ask.

"C,cat, tru,truck. Sp,spoon." He chokes out as a tear falls down my face. TC instantly pushed a syringe slowly and then another and runs a hand through his hair in almost a brotherly way.

"Good job man, rest now." He says. My hands are shaking and I'm not sure if it's all the caffeine or the stress of all of it combined but everything is swimming. I try taking deep breaths as Drew's eyes close shut and his face relaxes.

"Let's talk in the hall." Topher says to me and I push myself out of the chair and try not to flinch at the pain. My damn leg is pulsing and I try to not let anyone notice my discomfort or the fact that I feel like I'm about to explode but also am exhausted beyond belief. Drew and I had been up all day driving back from our road trip we took together, we'd driven since 5am, and driven all day long and then the crash happened around midnight and now it was almost 4:30. I'd been up since about 4:30 the previous day and as much as I had to do that in the military, we usually would get power naps or sleep extra before missions.

"Don't freak yourself out that he didn't remember you're engaged. All of his other neuro assessments pointed to him being completely fine. Many patients wake up groggy and when he's in that much pain he wasn't thinking about that. He passed with flying colors. It's time for you to both get some rest. He probably won't wake up again for a few hours so you can sleep now." TC says as I fill another cup with coffee.

"I'm alright, I'll stay with him." I reply not looking up as I take a few big gulps of the burning black liquid. Suddenly it's yanked from my shaking hand.

"How many cups have you had?" He asks as he tosses it in the trash and grabs my shaking hand. I try to still it but can't even get it close.

"I don't know. A few." I lie.

"You've had more than a few." He challenges, "You're shaking like a leaf and your pupils are pen point. You need to take care of yourself too. You've been up 24 hours and it's been a very long, stressful 24 hours on your body. You need to rest before your body forces you to." He tells me.

"Maybe 6 or 7 cups." I confess and he sighs. "You don't have to leave him. No one is trying to make you leave him. Just let us set up a cot in his room and hook you up to another IV with some fluids to flush some of this out of your system. You're on the verge of a damn caffeine overdose. I can wake you up in a few hours when we're about to do another check on him." TC compromises and I nod after a few minutes of considering this. TC was right. I wouldn't be able to help him if I couldn't stay away myself. TC nods and pages a nurse to set up a cot in Drew's room. TC returns with an IV and fluid bag and puts it next to my bed. He inserts the needle in my arm before taking a seat in the chair next to Drew's bed.

"I'll stay with him for a while. I don't have any emergent patients right now so I have a little time. I can trade with Kenny in a little while ok? Try to get some rest." TC tells me as I lay back against the pillow and try to take even, slow breathes that don't jar my ribs. I fall slowly into some form of sleep but soon am tormented by dreams.


End file.
